The Pumpkin Promenade
by Amy Lynn Tucker of Washington, PA
This was the day I was to face the beast’s wrath. The large, brown hairy animal and I were at a standoff. He was on his side of the enclosure and I was far off at the opposite end. He weighed in at a whopping 175 pounds compared to my measly 118 pounds. He emerged from his side quickly, with his head down and feet flying. He was headed straight for me. I could see the evil gleam in his eyes. I was caught off guard so suddenly that before I knew what was happening, I was going for a ride.
It was a beautiful day in late October with blue skies and cool, refreshing air. What a great day to decorate with all of the glorious colors of fall, for Halloween. I decided to stick with my tradition by making a pumpkin man.
I gathered some old work pants, an old worn shirt and a pair of carpenter boots. Then I nailed two unused boards together to form his back and shoulders. I rolled newspaper after newspaper until I had enough to fill a pumpkin man. The cat mistakenly thought I was doing all of this for his sake as he pounced and swatted at the newspaper pile, making a mess of everything.
After I finished stuffing the pants and shirt; a tedious ordeal, I pinned the top and bottom together. It was finally beginning to look like a pumpkin man.
I took my pumpkin man outside and set him in the porch swing, carefully. I put some gloves on him so he had some hands and boots on his string tied feet.
All my pumpkin man needed now was a head. I cleaned the pumpkin and carved his huge eyes and smiling mouth. I made a fake cigarette out of white paper and stuffed it in his mouth to make him look realistic. I was going all out to make this pumpkin man different.
As I brought the pumpkin outside to fit it onto the wooden stake, I noticed that I had company. It was Zachary, my very ornery goat and he had his eye on my pumpkin.
“Is that pumpkin for me” he seemed to be asking.
Goats love to eat pumpkins and that’s what this one was planning to do.
I tried to back him away from my pumpkin man, but the more I pushed him the more agitated he became. Eventually he had all of the pushing he could stand and he got even with me. He threw his head down and aimed right between my legs. Quick as a flash he lifted me clear off of my feet and took me for a ride.
I rode clear across the porch on his back, helpless until I reached out for the air conditioner. As I slid off of his back I realized we were just inches from going down the steps headfirst.
I laugh about the incident with Zachary and the pumpkin man now, but at the time I was really shaking. Usually I was the only one that Zachary didn’t bully because he knew where his oats and warm apples came from. I was the only one who could go around him without getting reared at. Until I tried to keep him away from a pumpkin!
He never bothered that pumpkin man again after that day. I sure wouldn’t have tried to stop him if he had wanted to. Could it be that he realized “his” pumpkin had been in his house this whole time?
